Heat — Greater Phoenix Area, Arizona

2011-09-11 · Greater Phoenix Area, Arizona

Event narrative

On the morning of September 11th, a 31 year old Missouri man and his friend decided to hike up South Mountain. The Missouri man was in town to watch the ASU/Missouri football game on Saturday the 10th. The two men went hiking in South Mountain Preserve Sunday morning and left with both water and a map. According to Scott Walker of the Phoenix Fire Department, they got lost and ran out of water at approximately 11 am and became disoriented. The hikers were deep in the mountains when a 12:40 pm emergency call was made. The Missouri man was found dead at 2 pm and rescuers indicated he died from heat stroke and dehydration. The second man survived and did not need hospitalization. The high temperature at Phoenix on Sunday was 99 degrees and some of the hotter deserts reached triple digits.

Wider weather episode

High temperatures on Sunday, September 11th reached near or slightly above 100 degrees in the greater Phoenix area. A hiker from Missouri attempted to hike South Mountain during the late morning, but ran out of water and became lost. He died early in the afternoon as a result of heatstroke and dehydration.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 335107. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.